Man arrested in connection with Zion shooting death

A 54-year-old Zion man was held on $5 million bail Thursday after being charged with the shooting death of another man in Zion last week.

Frank G. Farella, of the 2300 block of Jethro Avenue, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, according to Zion Police Chief Stephen Dumyahn. He was held in Lake County jail after a bond hearing Thursday.

Farella is charged in the death of Shane Colella, 37, of the 1600 block of 19th Street. Police responded to the home after a friend of Colella found his body inside on Sept. 5. Rescue was called for Colella, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds, and when first-responders determined the victim had no vital signs the coroner’s office was called.

Zion police called in the Lake County Major Crime Task Force to help in the homicide investigation.

“This was one of those cases that was very tough,” Dumyahn said. Asked about motive, he said the task force “is still investigating the homicide.”

Farella was released from federal custody on March 13, 2018, and is currently on federal parole through the Chicago probation office.

According to his conviction in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division in October of 2011, Farella was convicted along with two others for planning to rob a cocaine stash house.

Defendants Frank Farella, Donald Catanzaro and Michael Blais were caught in a sting operation set up by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in which they agreed to rob a drug stash house of 50 kilograms of cocaine, according to court records.

After a three-week trial, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on Oct. 26, 2011, against all three men for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute mixtures containing in excess of 5 kilograms of cocaine; attempted possession of cocaine; and possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. Farella was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to an August 2013 court document denying several motions — including a request for a new new trial and allegations of entrapment — an ATF agent reported that In their first phone call on Dec. 17, 2008, he asked Farella whether he wanted to do “a lick for about 50 birds.”

Court records state this meant a robbery for 50 kilograms of cocaine, to which Farella responded, “Brother, that’s what I do.”

The document goes on to describe how Farella recruited two other men and they bought outfits at an Army surplus store so they could pretend to be police officers when they raided the stash house. It added that the agent provided a van, and Farella told him to line the inside with sandbags to stop the bullets they expected to be fired at them for robbing the stash house.

When the agent asked if they would kill those guarding the drugs or not, the document added, one accomplice said they were prepared for both. Farella, according to the court records, told the agent, “Here’s the deal. We’ll come out, dude, you got an opportunity to live. ... They choose not to take that, that’s on them.”

Court documents add that he explained to the agent, “Hey, you’re sittin’ with some heavy hitters, bro.”

Colella, according to his obituary, attended Zion-Benton Township High School and is survived by two daughters, his parents, and many brothers and sisters and other family and friends. His funeral is Sept. 22 at the Congden Funeral Home in Zion.

“He was a loving and devoted father and cheer Dad, and a motorcycle and car enthusiast. He was also a huge Chicago sports fan, dart and billiard player. Shane was a loving and caring selfless person to all,” according to the obituary.